Ukraine


Process

Preliminary Application/Formal Application:
Both applications must be completed before you can formally begin your Ukraine adoption. The preliminary application is available on Bethany’s website at www.bethany.org/prelim. Upon approval of your preliminary application, your local Bethany branch office will contact you and send you the formal application. The Ukraine team must approve both applications.

Adoptive Home Study:
Your Home Study will be completed by a social worker from your local Bethany office. The Home Study is an educational and information gathering process. It will help you assess your readiness to adopt a child from Ukraine. During and/or after the Home Study process you will also complete the required parent training.

Immigration Pre-Filing:
Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-600A) should be completed upon your social worker’s instructions. You will file your USCIS Form I-600A with your local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office and be fingerprinted. You will then receive Form I-171H (or 797-C, depending on the state) from USCIS approving you for intercountry adoption. Call USCIS to order the I-600A Orphan Packet at 1.800.870.3676 or access their website at www.uscis.gov.

This is also a good time to apply for a current passport if you do not already have one.

Dossier Completion:
Your dossier should be completed with your social worker’s guidance. All dossier documents must be notarized and apostilled in accordance with the country’s requirements (see Instructions for Preparing your Dossier). Your completed dossier will be submitted to Bethany, along with your dossier fee payment (see Schedule of Fees) and translation fee. Bethany’s International Office (in Grand Rapids, MI) will mail these documents to the Ukraine representative in the U.S. or directly to staff in Ukraine.

Translation, Authentication, and Registration:
Your dossier will be reviewed, translated, and authenticated in Kiev by a translation service. After translation, it will be reviewed by the lawyer for the State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child (SDAPRC) and will then be submitted to the department to wait for registration. As the dossiers are reviewed and accepted into the process by the SDAPRC, they are assigned a registration number. You will be notified of your number after the registration. Families are invited for an appointment at the SDAPRC in the order of their registration numbers. This invitation can come either directly from the SDAPRC or from Bethany.

Adoption Process in Ukraine:
All children waiting for adoption in Ukraine are relinquished by birthparents for adoption or the parent’s rights have been terminated by the court. Children available for intercountry adoption must be registered on a local database, regional database, and the federal database for a total of 12 months. Once the children have been listed on the databases for the required time, they are registered at the SDAPRC as children available for intercountry adoption. The information at the SDAPRC will consist of a small photo and brief information regarding the child’s health.

Child Referral and Acceptance:
Prior to your travel to Ukraine, you will not receive information about a child. At the appointment with the SDAPRC staff, information about available children will be shared with you and your translator. When you have identified a child as appropriate, you will travel to the region where the child lives and visit the child. If a decision is made to adopt that child, the process will be set in motion to gather documents and set a court date. If, for some reason, this child is not appropriate, you may return to Kiev for another appointment at the SDAPRC and begin the process again.

Travel:
Ukraine adoptions require travel for both parents. Once you are notified of the travel dates, you will work with a travel agency (Bethany will make a recommendation of an agency) for your tickets. Travel to Ukraine will require 7 to 8 weeks, depending on how quickly a child is selected and if there are any difficulties in the process. Both parents must be in Ukraine through the court date. One parent may return to the U.S. after the court date, and the other parent may stay in Ukraine to bring the child home or both parents may return home for the 10 days after the court date and one or both may return to process through the Embassy and bring the child home. After the court date and the 10-day wait, final documents will be issued. You will then return to Kiev for the Embassy appointment for your child’s visa to enter the U.S.

Kiev/U.S. Embassy:
The staff in Ukraine will assist you with the Embassy appointment and the medical exam for your child. The medical exam will be at a clinic approved by the U.S. Embassy. After the appointment at the Embassy to present the documents, a visa will be issued for the child. You and your child will then travel to the U.S.

Registration with the Ukraine Consulate:
Ukraine law requires that all adoptive parents register their children with the Ukraine Consulate. This must be done immediately upon your return home. Instructions and a registration form will be sent to you by Bethany in your “Welcome Home” packet.

Post-Placement Reports:
Soon after you and your child(ren) arrive home, your social worker will contact you to arrange an arrival visit with your family. You may have questions, need assistance with adjustment issues, or just want to share your experience. Your social will complete a series of reports for the Ukraine Consulate. These will be sent at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months. Pictures must accompany these reports. Beginning at 36 months and every third year thereafter until the child turns 18, the family will be responsible for sending a report and pictures to the Ukraine Consulate.

Final Order of Adoption:
Your Final Order of Adoption is issued in Ukraine. In some states, you will need to re-adopt in order to have a U.S. birth certificate. Please check with your local Bethany office for this process. It is highly recommended that you apply for a U.S. birth certificate for your child.

Citizenship:
Your child is a United States citizen upon arrival in the U.S. USCIS will mail the certificate of citizenship soon after arrival in the U.S. for adopted children processed within the IR-3 visa category. For more information, please refer to www.uscis.gov.

For more information about Bethany's Ukraine program, please call 1.877.64.ADOPT, e-mail us at bcsinternational@bethany.org, or fill out our contact form.